A hearing to establish whether there is sufficient evidence to send former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson to trial over historical sex offences will take place later.

Donaldson, 61, and his wife and co-accused Lady Eleanor Donaldson, 58, of Dublinhill Road, Dromore, will appear for the committal proceedings – known as a preliminary enquiry (PE) – at Newry Magistrates’ Court.

At his first appearance in court in April, Donaldson had faced 11 charges brought by police.

An evidence file has since been reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in Northern Ireland and the former DUP leader will now face 18 charges.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson
There was a large police and media presence for Donaldson’s last court appearance in April (Niall Carson/PA)

He is accused of one charge of rape, four of gross indecency and 13 charges of indecent assault.

The charges span a time period between 1985 and 2008.

The previous holding charges will be withdrawn in court on Wednesday.

Donaldson has previously indicated that he will contest the charges against him.

Eleanor Donaldson faces charges of aiding and abetting in connection with the alleged offences.

The number of charges she faces has increased from four to five.

There are two alleged victims.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson court case
The number of charges being faced by Eleanor Donaldson has increased from four to five (Niall Carson/PA)

It has already been confirmed that Donaldson, who was the long-standing MP for Lagan Valley, is not running for re-election in the UK General Election this week.

He was arrested and charged in relation to the historical sexual allegations at the end of March.

Donaldson resigned as DUP leader and was suspended from the party after the allegations against him emerged.

It is understood that in a letter to DUP party officers at the time, he made clear he would be “strenuously contesting” all charges against him.

Weeks prior to his arrest, he had led the DUP back into Stormont following a two-year boycott of the powersharing institutions.

Previous deputy leader Gavin Robinson has been appointed his successor as DUP leader.

There was a large media and police presence when the two accused made their first appearance at Newry courthouse in April.

They have not been required to appear in court for subsequent hearings, but have been told by district judge Eamonn King that they will need to attend for the PE hearing.